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The amount of inclusions present in a stone will start to have a negative affect on the brilliance of a diamond when you get towards the lower end of the clarity scale. Surface blemishes and internal flaws affect how light travels through a diamond and will therefore directly affect how much it sparkles.
The diagram below shows shows an illustration of the qualities of diamonds.
Please click here for a detailed description of the following clarity grades.
Clarity refers to the relative purity of a diamond. Almost all diamonds will contain a certain amount of impurities, either internally in the form of inclusions, or on the surface of the stone in the form of blemishes, i.e., small scratches or nicks.
Diamonds with no surface blemishes or internal flaws are referred to as flawless (FL) and command a very high price. Truly flawless diamonds are extremeley rare and almost every stone will contain some kind of small inclusion.
Inclusions can be helpful in a number of ways. They provide a unique 'fingerprint' and will allow anyone who is familiar with a particular stone to immediately distinguish it from any other.